As a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Purcell skated with two of the best in Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis.

Now with the Edmonton Oilers, Purcell is looking forward to playing alongside the likes of Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov.

“I’ve been pretty fortunate in Tampa to play with some pretty high-end players,” said Purcell on a reconnaissance mission along with Keith Aulie, Benoit Pouliot and Mark Fayne, all acquired this offseason by the Oilers. “I just went wherever they weren’t. It’s pretty similar up here, they have a lot of high-end skilled guys that can do some special things with the puck. Wherever (head coach Dallas Eakins) puts me, I’m just going to embrace it and go with it.”

Purcell, 28, was acquired by the Oilers the day after the NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Sam Gagner, who was, in turn, flipped to the Phoenix Coyotes.